


First comes marriage

by Too_Much_Fandom



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, BAMF Tina Goldstein, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Movie 2: Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Protective Newt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-13 13:51:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17489216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Too_Much_Fandom/pseuds/Too_Much_Fandom
Summary: Following the events of Crimes of Grindelwald, Tina finds herself in an impossible situation: banished from the US by MACUSA, unable to stay in England without citizenship, she takes a chance and marries Newt, her boyfriend of two days, in order to become a citizen of Wizard Britain.





	1. Not Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This started as one-shot I posted to Tumblr a few weeks ago, and my head kept running with the story and here we are!
> 
> I rated this M from an abundance of caution (sorry, I'm an overprotective mom) but it's definitely on the lighter side of M and probably could pass for T. The main warnings don't show up until the later end of this, and I will make note of when those things are coming up. I do tend to overtag, but of course, it's up to each individual to use their best judgment

Tina stood forlornly by the window, one hand clutching the letter, the other clutching the sill. Newt wanted nothing more than to gather her up in his arms, kiss the breath out of her, and never let go. But now wasn't the time. They had yet to finish their interrupted conversation in the vault at the French ministry (had it really been three days already, since all that had happened in Paris?)

And yet... He couldn't just leave her like this. Slowly, he approached, eventually settling beside her, hands on the window sill.

"Tina..." Newt started tentatively, "feel free to tell me to sod off if you want to be alone right now, I just wanted to let you know that I'm here. If and when you want to talk, if you need anything, I'm here, Tina.”

Silence. Tina continued to stare out the window. Newt took that to mean she wanted space and slowly started to back away, when suddenly, he felt a tight grip on his arm. Tina had just grabbed his arm, so he returned to her side.

"Please stay," she whispered as tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and then she handed him the letter she was holding. Newt quickly scanned it, his heart sinking lower with each word. Not Tina, please no, after all she'd just endured, and now she was losing her job again and was at risk of arrest if she returned to New York... He chanced a glance into her eyes, the very same eyes he'd just recently told her reminded him of salamanders, and at that moment, the floodgates opened. Tears spilled out, and Tina sobbed loudly, and buried her face in Newt's shoulder. After the momentary surprise, Newt quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her, nuzzling her hair. It was heartbreaking, but he was going to take care of her for as long as she let him. 

Tina began to speak through her sobs. "My sister, my only family is gone... My job too... I'm a suspect now, because... Because Queenie..." she broke down again, and Newt held her tighter as she continued, "I can't go back home, I have no home to go back to. I have nothing, absolutely NOTHING left!" Her cries rose to a crescendo at that moment, coming to the full realization that she really was utterly alone in the world…

And at that moment, Newt loosened his grip on her so that he could bring one hand to her face. He lifted her chin, and then tucked some hair behind her ear, as he'd done in New York. This time, he kept his hand on her tear-stained cheek.

"Tina," he murmured, "listen to me Tina," and brown eyes looked up and found green, "you do NOT have nothing left! I know I'm just me, I would never presume to replace your sister or anything else, but you DO have me. You'll always have me, and you'll always have a home with me. If that's what you want..." he trailed off and looked away, suddenly embarrassed by his presumption. Then it was his turn to feel slender fingers lifting his chin and he once again found himself staring into fire in water. He returned his hand to her cheek, and though she said nothing, she was staring at him so intensely, he cautiously brought his face closer, and she moved toward him, and before they knew it, their lips were together. They clung to each other even more tightly as the kiss deepened, because nothing mattered but each other.

They kept their noses and foreheads together even after breaking off the kiss. "Thank you," Tina sighed, "for everything.”

Newt shook his head, "no need to thank me. You are my everything Tina, I want nothing more than to be with you. If you'll have me…”

"Yes, Newt, I'll have you," she grinned, and leaned in for another kiss.

"Always know," Newt whispered into her mouth as they continued to hold and kiss each other, "you are not alone. You will never be alone, not as long as I have anything to say on the matter. I've got you, Tina.”

"And I've got you, Newt," she whispered back. It was still painful. Tina had lost her sister and her job, and was about to be banished from her homeland. The grief would not go away so easily. But with Newt as her home and family, the healing could begin.


	2. An extradition order

Newt woke up rather late the next morning. He had been up comforting (and holding, and kissing) Tina for quite awhile before escorting her to his spare room. He would have stayed the night had she asked, but she didn't, and seemed a lot better than earlier in the evening, so he kissed her goodnight and went to sleep in the basement near his creatures. Somehow, he'd missed the early morning racket, so after a rushed morning feeding round, he scampered up to fix himself some breakfast. 

The delicious breakfast smells wafted under his nose before he was all the way up the stairs, however. He found Jacob in his kitchen, puttering around and humming. “Here, let me get that,” Newt waved his wand to charm the pancakes into flipping themselves and the whisk into beating the eggs, “you're my guest, please don't trouble yourself.” 

“Nah, it's fine,” Jacob assured him, “cooking makes me feel better. Especially after…” he sighed, but joined Newt at the table. With the food cooking itself, there wasn't anything else to do. 

“So how's Tina? Haven't seen her up yet,” Jacob remarked. 

“We had a late night,” Newt yawned, “not what you're thinking,” he huffed out in reply to Jacob's raised eyebrow, “although we did, um, well, I guess, well, we kissed a bit,” he smiled shyly and looked away. 

“Aw, congrats, buddy, I'm real happy for ya,” Jacob grinned back, “just like we talked about? No salamanders?” 

“Not last night, no, but it actually did come up in Paris, and really, Jacob, she seemed to like it. At least I think-”

“No kiddin’!” Jacob chuckled, “I swear you twos are made for each other! And she's gonna need all the love she can get after-” they both sighed. It seemed weird to be happy about anything at all with all that was going on. 

At that moment, they were interrupted by a knock at the door. Newt opened it and quickly ushered a very harried Theseus inside. 

“Hello Mr. Kowalski,” he nodded briskly toward Jacob. 

“Please, call me Jacob.” 

“Yes, right,” Theseus replied distractedly, “Newt, is Miss Goldstein around?”

“She's still asleep. Why-” 

“No, it's fine, I'm up,” Tina sleepily poked her head out the door. Within 30 seconds, she stepped out, all dressed and ready to go. “Auror business?” she inquired of Theseus. 

“No, this is of a more, um, personal nature,” Theseus explained. He gestured for Tina to sit down. She sat, and exchanged a quizzical look with Newt, who immediately sat down beside her and took her hand. 

Jacob tried hard to suppress his grin, but didn't quite succeed. Theseus raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He cleared his throat. 

“I'll just get straight to it, there's no delicate way to put this. The defection of the younger Miss Goldstein has put the elder Miss Goldstein in quite a precarious situation,” he began. It did not escape his notice that Newt gripped her hand tighter at those words, but he barreled on, “MACUSA will want to investigate her as soon as she's back on US soil.” 

“Yes, I know, I got the letter last night,” Tina interjected. 

Theseus nodded, but had more to say. “Yes. Well. They claim it's merely an investigation, but, um, well, it's a bit concerning that, um, they've placed an extradition order with our ministry.”

“Extradition order?!” Newt blurted out angrily, standing up and placing himself in front of Tina as though to shield her. Tina calmly placed a hand on his arm. She didn't speak a word, but the resigned look on her face told them all that this news was not unexpected and she was quite aware of what she was facing if she returned to New York. Newt sat back down and placed his arm protectively around Tina's shoulders. Theseus looked away for a moment. Now was not the time, but he was definitely going to be interrogating his little brother later… 

“I think it's outrageous, which is why I came here to let you know that Miss Goldstein is not to leave this flat until I can assure her safety,” he informed them, “I'm working, together with Dumbledore, to persuade the minister to reject the extradition and possibly grant her asylum here. But until then, I think it best that she not venture out.”

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Scamander,” Tina stood up and put out her hand to Theseus, who shook it, “I really do appreciate it. Now, please excuse me.” She hurried toward the stairs and disappeared into the basement. 

Newt looked on after her and then turned back toward Theseus. “You'll keep us updated on your efforts?” Theseus nodded. “Then I hope you don't mind if I just go down there to look after her? That was a difficult bit of news you just delivered.”

“Of course,” Theseus patted Newt's shoulder as he turned to follow Tina downstairs, “but don't think you're getting out of the private conversation with me!” he hollered at Newt's back before it disappeared around the curve of the stairs. 

“Pancake?” Jacob offered him, “and yeah, I'll leave it to Newt to give you the details, but yes, he's got himself a doll now.” 

Theseus sighed in pain for a moment, but then smiled sincerely. “I am happy for him. I really am. I'll be back for dinner, and perhaps we can discuss such happy matters then.” With that, he shook Jacob's hand, and then disapparated with a loud crack.


	3. A Proposal

Newt found Tina looking out over the expanse of the kelpie lake. She had conjured a small bench for herself to sit on. He slid in next to her and she immediately melted into his embrace. They sat there like that for awhile, holding each other in silence, listening to the sounds of the lake and the occasional splash of the kelpie jumping up. 

Finally, Tina broke the silence. “I can't say I didn't see that coming,” she sighed, “but what am I gonna do? If I can't stay here…”

“If you have to run, I'll run with you,” Newt declared. 

“Newt I couldn't ask you to-” 

“I meant what I said last night,” he cupped her cheek and stared into her eyes, “you are not alone, and I won't allow you to be alone. Where you go, I go.” He then sealed her lips with his, as if to seal his promise. Tina once again relaxed into his embrace. They could work on escape plans later. For now, it was enough to hold each other and watch the kelpie some more. 

Then it was Newt's turn to break the silence. “Perhaps there IS a way…” he trailed off and shook his head. Tina looked at him, puzzled. 

“There is a way to guarantee you can stay here safely. It's-it's a little unconventional, or perhaps simply mad…” 

“Newt, what on earth?”

Newt took a deep breath and plunged forward, “Tina, if we got married, you'd become a subject of the British ministry and they would not extradite you. You still would not be able to return to New York, but the ministry would not be able to send you back either.”

He chanced a quick glance into Tina's eyes and then demurely looked away, blushing. 

After her momentary shock, Tina blurted out, “you don't actually mean that, do you?”

“I know it's a bit odd, but it is a way to-”

“But you aren't actually--Newt, do you really want to get married?”

“If I'm being perfectly honest, no,” Newt began, then panicked at Tina's crestfallen face, “wait, Tina, that's not what I meant, I-” he clasped her hand in desperation and brought it to his lips, “that is to say, I do want to be with you, and I do, well, um, I do… care very much for you, you know.” 

He threaded his fingers through her hair and drew her in for another kiss. “I do. Under normal circumstances, I'd continue this-whatever it is between us since last night, I'd continue until whenever the next point came, perhaps wait too long to propose out of my own cowardice and stupidity. There's no question that it's too early for me to propose marriage now. But in this situation, it will help. It will keep you safe.” He cupped her cheek once more, “and your safety, my dear, is worth everything, even rushing into a marriage way too quickly for either of us.” And with that, he kissed her soundly once more. 

“I care about you a lot too, Newt,” she whispered as the broke apart, but touched their foreheads together, “but how will we make it work? It's all happening so fast…”

“Just because we'll be married in the eyes of the law, doesn't mean we have to conduct ourselves as married before we're ready,” he assured her, “we don't have to, um, you know,” he blushed crimson, “we don't have to live as man and wife until we're fully ready to. We can just, well, continue this, and just conduct ourselves as though in a courtship, for however long we need to.” 

He looked back up at Tina, and she nodded her assent, while also sighing in relief. Newt gathered her close to him, and whispered again, “whatever makes you most comfortable.” 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Tina sighed into his shoulder. They smiled at each other, then looked back out at the lake. 

“Well then, let me acquaint you with some of the creatures you haven't had the pleasure to meet yet,” said Newt, standing up and pulling her with him. He then pulled off his waistcoat and bowtie, and started unlacing his boots. 

“Newt, what are you-NEWT!” she shrieked as he took a running dive into the lake. “Newt?” Suddenly, the lake rose and drenched her, just as she saw the kelpie rising out, with Newt astride its back. Awed, Tina started inching closer, then slipped. With another shriek, she toppled into the lake. Newt slid off the kelpie just as she resurfaced. They laughed and splashed each other, with the kelpie joining in by slapping waves toward them with its tail. They played in the lake until Jacob came down to tell them that Theseus had arrived for dinner. 

Despite the seriousness of their meeting that morning, Theseus was in a more affable mood now. “We'll talk business after the meal,” Theseus declared, “but for now, I'd like to enjoy the company of my brother and his friends. And Newt, I expect answers about, well…” he inclined his head towards Tina. Newt nodded his assent and they sat down to a delicious smelling dinner, courtesy of Jacob.

“Alright, Newt, Miss Goldstein, do tell me, what in Merlin's bollocks is going on here?” Theseus demanded good-naturedly after two glasses of wine. 

“Hard as it may be to believe, yes, I am courting someone,” Newt replied patiently, turning for a moment to gaze into Tina's eyes. 

“How did it happen so fast--oh,” Theseus suddenly quieted as it dawned on him, “this is why you were so desperate to return to New York, isn't it?”

“You were desperate to return to New York?” Tina asked incredulously.

“His visa was denied five times,” Theseus explained, “had my prat of a brother bothered to tell me the real reason behind his wish to travel…” he shook his head, “if Leta were here, she'd hex you silly.” The entire party quieted at that moment. Newt and Tina exchanged guilty looks. 

“No, no, none of that, now,” said Theseus quietly, holding back tears, “I'm truly happy for you. She is happy for you, wherever she is. Newt, she truly wanted to see you happy. Don't hold back because you're feeling sorry for me. You deserve to be happy, even in these trying times.”

“Yeah, guys,” Jacob concurred, “Queenie was also rootin’ for ya. Probably still is, wherever she is…” 

They resumed eating in silence for a few minutes, before Jacob decided to change the subject. “I was readin’ in the paper about this thing, quidditch, can someone explain it to me?”

Newt and Theseus started off, with Tina chiming in a bit too, to explain how quodpot was more popular in America, but that Americans were into Quidditch too. When Newt mentioned that he'd been a Chaser on the Hufflepuff team, Tina nearly choked on her dinner. 

“I suspected you were making a quidditch pun that day, but now you've confirmed it!” 

“Sorry,” Newt chuckled into his napkin. 

“Does this have to do with the mayhem you caused in New York last year?” Theseus inquired. 

“Maybe,” Newt and Tina said together, then dissolved into giggles. 

Theseus shook his head. “You two are going to be the death of me.”

“Don't worry, I'll look after him,” Tina reassured him. 

“That I don't doubt, Miss Goldstein, but I learned last week that I also have to watch my back around you!”

“Please, call me Tina! I do believe hexing you into being tied to a chair should put us on a first name basis.” Theseus hid his face in his hands as Newt snorted into his wine glass and Jacob loudly guffawed. 

The evening wore on quite jovially, punctuated with some awkward silences whenever Queenie or Leta were referenced. At last, Theseus remarked that it was time to update them on the developing situation. 

“We've had no luck today,” he sighed, “Dumbledore is optimistic that we'll get through to them, but please, Miss, er, sorry, Tina, please, I implore you to remain indoors while we work this out. It's not safe for you otherwise.”

“Thank you, Theseus,” said Tina sincerely, “I truly appreciate your efforts.” She shared a meaningful look with Newt and then sauntered off to the kitchen to help Jacob clean up. Newt took that as his cue to invite Theseus to accompany him on his evening rounds. 

“So tell me the real story,” Newt demanded as he and Theseus threw pellets to the mooncalves, “what really are the odds of the ministry granting Tina asylum?” 

Theseus sighed. “You know how the ministry works as well as I do. I didn't want to upset Tina after such a lovely dinner, but it's not looking good. Dumbledore's magical abilities are greatly respected, but his politics less so. And there's a lot of panic going on, after the escape, and then Paris…”

“I was afraid it was unlikely,” said Newt, shaking his head, “which is why Tina and I spent the afternoon thinking up contingencies in case we couldn't rely on that.”

“A wise idea, though knowing you, you probably came up with some pretty blinkered plans. So, tell me, what do you think her next move should be?”

“To marry me,” said Newt plainly. 

Whatever Theseus was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. “Pardon?”

“You heard right. I suggested, and Tina agreed, that marriage was the best option. She'll become a citizen of the British Wizarding community and thus protected.”

“Are you mad, Newt?” Theseus rounded on him. 

“Maybe a little,” Newt grinned sheepishly. 

“Now is not the time to give me cheek, Newt! You can't marry someone you barely know!”

“Actually, we've known each other for nine months-”

“Of which how much have you known each other in person?”

“Admittedly about two weeks, but-”

“She's a lovely witch, Newt, but you can't just-” 

“Says who? And have you got a better idea?”

Theseus was silent. He couldn't think of a reply. “There isn't one, really. You're blinkered, you know that?”

“Some of my blinkered ideas actually work,” Newt grinned, as Theseus’ expression softened, “and besides, at least we have something between us. It's not from nothing.” 

“I suppose we can at least still have a Scamander wedding…” Theseus trailed off. For the second time since the tragedy, Newt pulled his brother into an embrace. Theseus heaved into his shoulder for a bit. Then he stood up straight, cleaned his face, and turned to leave. “I'll send a ministry officiant here tomorrow afternoon, to get it over and done with. Congratulations, my dear brother.”

“Thank you,” Newt murmured quietly to Theseus’ back, already heading back upstairs.


	4. A Wedding

Jacob and Tina were sitting in the living room, waiting for the ministry official, due to arrive in about a half hour. Tina had transfigured some of her clothes into a white dress and conjured a short veil. It was nothing like Queenie would have done. She had always assumed Queenie would be with her on her wedding day, for everything from taking care of the dress and makeup and hair, to walking her down the aisle. Shocking as it was that she was getting married, less than two days after officially starting a relationship with Newt, she was even more stunned to be doing it without Queenie by her side. 

“Everything alright, Tina?” Jacob asked, with much concern. 

“It's just all so overwhelming,” Tina quavered, “Don't get me wrong, I, well, I do have feelings for Newt and all, but it wasn't supposed to happen like this. And Queenie… How can I get married without my only sister?!” The tears she was trying to hold back breached their boundaries and started to slide down her cheeks. 

“Now, now,” Jacob patted her back sympathetically, trying not to cry himself, “Newt's a good fella, you know that. So things are happenin’ a little out of order. You twos can pull through just fine. You're a great team. As for Queenie,” he paused to wipe his eyes on his sleeve, “yeah, it's hard. And there ain't nothin' any of us can do about it, for now. She made some bad choices, and I know you was fightin’ with her the last coupla months, but I know how much she loves you. She always will love you. I know I'm not your sister, and I can't make up for her absence, but I can be your brother. Will you let me be your brother?”

Tina threw her arms around Jacob and sobbed into his shoulder. “I'll take that as a yes,” he murmured, tears running down his face as he soothed Tina. “I'm here, sister. You're my sister, whether or not I ever get to marry Queenie. Now let's get cleaned up, we don't wanna be all blotchy for your weddin’!”

“Thanks Jacob, and you're right,” Tina chuckled as she pulled out her wand to redo her makeup and clear up Jacob's face, “now let's do this. Brother.”

Down in the basement, Theseus was helping Newt get ready. 

“Newt, are you alright?” Theseus asked tentatively as he adjusted Newt's dress robes. 

“As much as I can be, under the circumstances,” Newt sighed. “I'm mad, aren't I?”

“That you are,” said Theseus, “but that's always been so. Besides, like you said, there really aren't any better options.”

“I do care very much for her, you know. It's just that, well, it wasn't supposed to happen this way. I meant to court her properly, and then, if it went well, propose properly, and, well, this is all wrong, isn't it?”

“Now Newt, since when have you ever cared about following the rules? Why start now?” Theseus joked. “In all seriousness, you'll figure it out. It will be alright.”

“I suppose you're right,” Newt sighed and adjusted his bow tie. 

“One more thing,” Theseus started, rummaging in his pocket, “you'll be needing a ring for this, so,” and he handed a simple, goblin silver band to Newt. 

“Granny's ring… No. Theseus, that's the ring you were supposed to…”

Theseus looked at him tearfully, “and I bloody well can't now, can I?” Newt shook his head and tried to hand it back, but Theseus wouldn't hear of it. “She's gone, and there's nothing we can do about it, Newt. Take it. Let someone use it. She'd want it put to good use. Merlin, Newt, I can see why you and Leta were such fast friends! Damn it if I haven't spent half my life trying to convince one or the other of you that you deserve to be loved!” His voice broke at that moment and he turned away. 

Newt tentatively touched his brother's shoulder. “You don't have to be here if it's too much. It's you that should be getting married…”

“Nonsense! I won't miss my only brother's wedding! Leta would find a way to hex us both from beyond. Just take the damn ring, Newt, and let's go upstairs. He should be arriving any minute.”

Newt swallowed and closed his fist around the ring. Theseus scooped him into a big hug, and Newt returned the gesture. He was getting a lot better at this hugging thing lately. Then they walked upstairs together. 

They were just in time. Jacob was at the door greeting the officiant and ushering him into the living room. Newt caught his first glimpse of Tina and was dumbfounded. As strange as it was to be getting married, she did look breathtakingly beautiful, even more so than usual. She looked away, blushing like a real bride. 

“Now, now,” the officiant clapped to get everyone's attention, “small gathering, I see. I'm surprised the bestselling author is having such a private ceremony,” he raised a suspicious eyebrow. 

“He just wanted to enjoy an intimate ceremony without a mob, is that so difficult to understand?” Theseus shot back, “now let's move forward with this.”

And just that quickly, Newt and Tina found themselves standing before the officiant, holding hands as he droned on through the official ministry text. 

“Would you like to share your vows now?” he asked. Newt and Tina stared blankly at him. Neither of them had thought of it through the whirlwind of the last 24 hours. “The vows?” he repeated. He once again looked at them suspiciously, as though he could sense there was something strange about this wedding. 

“Ah well, we haven't got all day,” the officiant whipped out his wand and gestured to the couple to grip hands tightly in preparation for the final bonding. Newt took both of Tina's hands in his and gave them a reassuring squeeze. They both found themselves stammering out their I do’s, then with a flick of the officiants wand, a shower of silver stars rained down on them and wrapped around their entwined hands, and it was official. They were married. They kissed, deeply and so sincerely that the officiant was satisfied that his earlier suspicions were incorrect. He wished the couple well and left them to their celebration. A collective sigh of relief was released as he left. 

Theseus slid down into a chair. “Well, that's done with. Once it's filed, Tina, you should be cleared in a week or so, and considered a citizen. You'll be safe from extradition.”

“So, anyone want some cake?” Jacob called out from the kitchen, “there wasn't time to put together a full meal, but at least we can have some cake!” The foursome sat down for some cake, and then Jacob and Theseus left together to give the newlyweds some time alone. 

“So, um, Mrs. Scamander,” Newt tested out Tina's new moniker over dinner. It was too much, and they both dissolved into uproarious laughter. 

“I may be Mrs. Scamander on paper,” Tina replied as the laughter died down, “but I don't know that I'm quite ready to own that title yet. It's still too weird. No offense?” 

“None taken,” Newt smiled, “but may I at least tell you how beautiful you are this evening?” 

“You may,” Tina blushed and looked away, “though it's not something I've heard too often in my life.”

“What utter nonsense,” Newt whispered as he took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. 

Not long after, they cleared up the table and Tina announced that she wanted to get ready for bed. It had been an exhausting day, not because she'd done that much, but because of the rollercoaster of emotions and awkwardness. 

Newt knocked on her door as she was finishing up her evening routine. “I just wanted to say goodnight.” 

Tina opened the door, “of course! Goodnight, Newt.” 

She drew her arms around her neck and kissed him. He slid his arms around her waist and deepened the kiss in reply. He could feel every curve of her body so plainly through her pajamas, that at that moment, he began to think beyond kissing, how he wanted to feel more of her. She's your wife now, you know. It's your right, a little voice in his head remarked. Horrified with himself for even thinking that, he quickly drowned out that voice with another, don't be a prat, you know we're not ready for that. Not even close. Nonetheless, Newt could already feel a certain biological reaction beginning, and he absolutely could not let Tina feel it too. He broke off the kiss abruptly, but continued to hold Tina so as not to make her think something was wrong. 

“I've got to get ready for bed myself,” he told her, “I'll take the spare room, since Jacob's not here. Unless you wish for me to stay?”

“No, it's fine,” Tina mumbled awkwardly. 

“Well, you know where to find me if you do need me. Don't hesitate to get me if you do want company, alright?”

“Thank you, Newt,” Tina kissed his cheek softly. 

“Goodnight, Tina,” he kissed her forehead in reply. They squeezed hands, and then he left the room, Tina shutting the door behind him. Newt looked down. The bulge was still there, though thankfully he was still in his clothes and not pajamas, so it wasn't that noticeable. However, a swim with the kelpie in its cold lake was definitely in order.


	5. Newlyweds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically, from here on in, this story is thanks to @katiehavok and @kemara, who helped when I got really stuck with where to go with this after the wedding. So thank you both! You are awesome!

Newt and Tina soon settled into a comfortable routine, though it was not without its awkward moments. Newt, unused to sharing living quarters with other humans, sometimes forgot not to wander around his home in underwear. Tina didn't mind terribly, she certainly enjoyed the view, but not being ready to act on it yet, she had to retreat to her room sometimes to calm herself down when it happened. Tina was more careful with her modesty as she wasn't as familiar with her new home, but there were still a few times when Newt caught her in her towel coming out of the shower and found himself dashing downstairs to go jump in the lake. 

They did have a lot of time to spend together. Tina was jobless, and most of Newt's time was occupied with book signings and lectures, and consulting jobs from the Ministry as needed. The rest of the time, he looked after his creatures, and Tina was perfectly happy to join him. Bunty had stopped insisting on working overtime when, the day after the wedding, Newt introduced Tina as his wife, so there was plenty for Tina to do in the basement, and it was a great way to enjoy Newt's company, steal some kisses, and develop their relationship more. It was amazing how much more easily Newt was able to open up and speak confidently when surrounded by his creatures and their habitats. They also regularly took walks together around their London neighborhood and Diagon Alley, hand in hand, often laughing and joking. There was a lot to joke about, especially once the tabloids started talking about their recent marriage. 

“If I've learned anything since Paris, it's that I really do need to keep an eye on what these rags are printing,” Newt sighed over breakfast one morning, “if I'd just done that in the first place, you and I could have avoided a lot of heartache.”

“It was just as much my fault,” Tina squeezed his hand reassuringly, “I should have reached out to you. I should have known better than to believe anything I saw in Spellbound.”

“Well, all's well that ends well! We can laugh about it now. Especially after this morning's feature,” Newt smirked as he slid Witch Weekly across the table, already opened to the offending article. It showed a picture of Newt and Tina out for a stroll in Diagon Alley, with Newt kissing Tina's cheek, and then pulling back so the they could smile shyly at each other. The headline read, “Cub on the way for Beast Tamer Scamander and his new wife?”

Tina snorted into her coffee. “Does it never stop? Do people have nothing better to do than to speculate such things?”

“Price of fame, my dear,” Newt grinned, “besides, think of it from an outside perspective. Why else would I return from Paris, under suspicious circumstances, with a Yank in tow who I married less than a week later?” he raised an eyebrow. 

They both broke down laughing until their sides ached, and enjoyed the rest of their breakfast skewering the papers and their writing staff. 

There were challenges too. Tina, having lived most of her life with a legilimens, sometimes struggled with having to spell things out for Newt. 

One evening, after weeks of being fed up with how she always seemed to be the one doing the vast majority of the housework, she was a little aggressive with cleaning up after dinner. 

Newt, suspecting something was up, asked her “are you alright, Tina? You seem a little-”

“A little what?” she snapped. 

“I don't know. Huffy? Angry about something?”

“I'm fine!” She snapped again. 

She didn't sound fine, but what did Newt know? If she said she was fine, who was he to argue? So he went down to the basement to be with his creatures. When he noticed it was the time she usually went to bed, he came up to kiss her goodnight as he always did. She angrily rebuffed him. 

“You went downstairs and left me alone when I needed you!” She rounded on him. 

“Excuse me,” Newt shot back “I don't recall you saying anything of the sort.”

“Well, you clearly gathered I was upset about something. Enough to ask,” Tina retorted. 

“And then you said you were fine! How the hell else am I supposed to understand that statement?”

“Because I obviously wasn't!”

“I'm not a legilimens, you know!” Newt muttered through gritted teeth. 

At that moment, Tina's face crumpled. “I'm so sorry Newt,” she said hoarsely as her eyes started to well up, “you're right, I was unfair to you… Oh, I'm so sorry, that was terrible of me! ”

“No, it's alright,” Newt drew her into his embrace, “I mean, it wasn't right of you, but I understand. It must be a difficult thing to adjust to.” He kissed her tearstained cheeks and held her tight, “please don't be afraid to talk to me, to tell me things. Do you care to share what was troubling you earlier?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tina hiccuped, “I'm getting frustrated that all the cleaning up and stuff seems to fall to me, and you don't even notice! But forget it, after how I treated you tonight, I don't deserve-”

“Of course you deserve a husband who's not a prat!” Newt interjected, “I'm your husband in name, the fact that neither of us are yet accustomed to that reality is no excuse for me to be a bad one.” He drew her in for a kiss, and whispered against her lips “please forgive me.”

“Of course,” she whispered back, “do you forgive me?”

He replied with quite a thorough kiss. It got heated enough that, as had happened a few times in the weeks since their wedding, his body was ready to consummate the marriage then and there. He pulled back, to calm himself down. 

“I'll try to do better, but please, Tina, I don't always notice messes and things that need to be done. Just tell me, alright?”

Tina answered by squeezing his hands and softly kissing his cheek. “I'll do my best.”

Newt lingered in the doorway, hoping that perhaps she might ask him to stay a bit, but she didn't. They kissed goodnight once more and he closed the door behind him as he left. 

A couple of weeks later, things were demonstrably more comfortable between them, as Newt tried to anticipate Tina's needs more and Tina tried to communicate more. One night, they kissed each other goodnight as usual, then Tina went to bed and Newt sat down to work on his second edition. He didn't get very far, because his eyes kept drooping even though it was early for him, and he felt the beginning of a headache coming on. At first he tried to shake it off, but eventually gave up and started preparing for bed. Then, he heard the unmistakable sound of Tina crying in her room. 

“Tina?” he knocked tentatively on her door, “Tina dear, may I come in?” 

“Yeah-hic-I guess-hic,” came the reply. 

He opened the door, and his heart twisted painfully at the sight of Tina's red nose and tear streaked face. He sat down next to her on the bed and gently took her into his arms. 

“You can talk about it if you'd like,” he whispered into her hair, “or not, if you don't want to. Just know, I've got you Tina.”

She stayed silent for a few minutes, just relaxing into Newt's embrace, and soon her breathing steadied. 

“I-I am really happy to be with you,” she started, “I've been dreaming about this for, well, since you left New York last year. But I'm still homesick! My sister has run off with a madman and I might never be able to return to my home city, and London is nice, but it's not New York, and I miss New York and-” her eyes filled with tears again, “I'm sorry, Newt, this is stupid-”

“It's not stupid!” Newt interjected. 

“Yes it is! I have so much good- Mercy Lewis, I have you! Why do I have to be so-”

“No, Tina, listen to me,” Newt started, but suddenly broke into a hacking cough, then continued “sorry, I'm alright, I promise. Tina, you've nothing to be sorry for. You've lost so much, gone through so many changes at once, of course you're hurting.” He cupped her face and kissed her softly. “I'm here for you, but I can't make up for what you've lost. You can be sad about the past and hopeful about the future at the same time. I'll never stop saying that I've got you, Tina.”

“Stay with me, Newt?”

Newt's breath hitched. He'd been anticipating this step but had been too nervous to ask. “Of course, dearest,” he smiled, “let's get comfortable.” 

They laid together under the covers, with Tina's back to Newt's chest. Newt nuzzled her hair and dropped kisses on her temple and around her jaw. Tina entwined her fingers with Newt's and kissed his knuckles and wrist. She soon dropped into a blissful sleep and Newt followed not too long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is basically just filler, to show a bit of them just navigating the early days and developing their relationship. Also, I don't mean to paint Tina in a bad light, I just think it's realistic that since she's used to having a legilimens around, she'd struggle with adjusting to having to spell things out and not being able to expect Newt to pick up on her vibes.


	6. The flu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy a bit of Newtina sick fic fluff :-)

Tina awoke the next morning still cuddled against Newt's chest. Mmm, I could get used to waking up like this, she thought. But something was wrong. Newt's breathing seemed awfully labored, and when she pressed her lips to his forehead, she was startled by how hot it was. 

“Mercy Lewis, Newt, you're burning up!” 

Newt cracked one eye open, groaned, and pulled the covers tighter around himself, shivering. Tina decided some pepperup was in order, so she left the room to find some. When she returned, she found Newt attempting to get out of bed, hampered by a hacking cough.

“Oh no, you don't!” she ran over to him and pushed him back into bed. 

“I'm fine, I swear,” Newt managed between coughs, “just a bit of a cold.” He smiled weakly. 

“Well, at the very least, you need to stay in bed until the pepperup takes effect.”

“But the creatures--” 

“Bunty will be here in a few minutes, she and I can handle them just fine,” Tina insisted, “but you, Mr. Scamander, are staying in bed, and that's final!”

Newt obediently downed his pepperup, but then immediately tried to get out of bed again. 

“What? It'll start to work soon, and I'll be fine!”

“It'll only be fully effective if it's a cold,” Tina reprimanded, “if you have something more serious, like the flu, it will help a little, but you'll still need to stay in bed.”

“Well, I'm sure it's just a cold-”

“You stay in bed, or-or-” Tina thought for a moment and then grinned mischievously, “or I'll send Theseus an owl telling him you're ill.”

Newt certainly didn't want that. He flopped back down on the bed, defeated. Tina smirked, “please, let me take care of you, for once!” She kissed Newt's burning forehead, and then headed for the door, “I'll be making you some chicken soup. My bubby's recipe.” Newt just nodded, and closed his eyes. 

The pepperup did not work. It brought down the fever a bit, and made Newt feel less achy, but it didn't help with the coughing, wheezing, and fatigue. Tina was very worried about the possibility of the flu. She had not forgotten the horrible flu pandemic during her last year of Ilvermorney, which had killed millions of No-majs, and even some wizards who hadn't gotten flu potions early enough. She was going back and forth between the creatures and Newt all day. Bunty would follow and nervously watch Tina attending to Newt from the doorway. She worried about him too. 

By evening, Newt seemed even worse. He couldn't leave the bed even if he wanted to, so even though he wasn't trying to get up, Tina sent for Theseus anyway. It felt urgent enough to send the message via patronus. 

Theseus arrived just ten minutes later. He rushed straight to Newt's bedside, brushed past Tina, who was holding Newt's limp hand, and placed a hand on his forehead. Newt silently squinted at him and then fell back asleep, with concernedly labored breathing. 

“How long has it been like this?“ he turned quickly to Tina. 

“He woke up this morning pretty sick, but we thought it might be a cold. I gave him some pepperup and it helped a little, and then it really got worse after dinner.”

“So probably more than a cold then,” Theseus murmured. 

Tina nodded in agreement. “I don't know how things work in England. Should we go to the hospital? Or can we get a healer to come here?”

“I’ll bring a healer here,” Theseus decided, “you stay and look after Newt.”

“As if there's anywhere else I could be,” Tina sighed, and ran her fingers through Newt's impossibly messy hair, “please hurry!” 

Theseus returned with the healer, who quickly determined that it was the flu. “It's a good thing you called tonight,” she explained, “by morning he would have had to go to St. Mungo's.”

Tina and Theseus stood at the edge of the room while the healer attended to Newt. She alternately performed spells and tipped potion down Newt's throat. Finally, after about 20 minutes, Newt stopped shivering and his breathing eased. He relaxed into a restful sleep. 

“He'll be alright,” she reassured Tina and Theseus, “we're fortunate to have potions that can cure the flu, the Muggles have nothing. Anyway, Mrs. Scamander,” Tina startled that, as she still wasn't used to thinking of herself as married, “he'll need this potion every four hours for the next three days. Make sure he gets plenty of rest and nutrition, and he should be back on his feet in three or four days.”

“Thank you,” Tina shook the healer's hand gratefully. 

“Much obliged,” Theseus added. 

“Do take care!” She replied before disapparating.

Theseus looked over at Tina, relief etched on his face. “Do you want me to stay? We can take turns waking up to give him his potion.”

“Oh, you don't have to,” Tina mumbled, “it's fine, I can-” 

“No no, I will stay. I don't want you to run yourself ragged over the next three days. Besides, I'll worry less being here,” Theseus insisted, “you've done enough today, please get some rest. I'll stay with him through the night.” Theseus transfigured a chair into a small cot and settled in for the night. 

“Well, if you're sure…just promise me you'll wake me up if he needs me or it gets bad again.” Tina then walked over to Newt, smoothed his hair down, and placed a tender kiss on his forehead before sauntering off to the spare room. 

Theseus laid in his cot with a large, goofy smile for awhile after Tina left. Yes, Newt had been mad to skip courting and marry a foreign witch he barely knew, but it did seem to be falling into place. They were growing into love. Theseus was still grieving painfully, but it was comforting to know his brother had found a love of his own. For Theseus knew that's what it was, even if they didn't fully recognize it yet. He knew as soon as he received Tina's patronus, which was identical to Newt's. 

Tina slept the whole night, but woke as soon as the first light filtered into the room. Remembering that Theseus was there, she got dressed rather than just throwing a robe on. When she got to Newt's room, she found Theseus awake and putting away the potion that he must have just given Newt. 

“How was the night? How is he this morning?” Tina immediately asked, as she took Newt's hand in one of her hands, and stroked his cheek with the other. He still had a fever, but not as alarmingly high as the previous evening. 

“He's doing a lot better,” Theseus replied, “he did get worse again shortly before his middle of the night dose, but it settled him again. And he actually woke up just before this dose, and was actually able to take it himself.” Theseus looked at his watch and then added, “next dose should be with breakfast. Mind if I stop by again this evening?”

“Sure, whatever you want,” Tina agreed, “I'm here all day, I've got nowhere to be.” She sighed. It had now been over a month since she'd lost her job, and she really wanted to go back. Theseus had warned her that there might be some complications getting her into the ministry, and so far, he had been right. She had been navigating ministry red-tape ever since her citizenship became official. 

“Right, about that,” Theseus started, “We can talk more about it later, but I've some good news on that front. The ministry will allow you to skip the junior training and just take the written and practical exams. I still can't promise they'll let me hire you, but it's a step in the right direction.”

“Oh, that's great news!” Tina exclaimed. One of the many weights she'd been carrying around suddenly lifted. “Of course, let's get Newt better first, but after that, I'd love to get right on that!”

“Of course. Alright, I must be off. A good day to you both!” He turned on the spot and was gone. 

Somehow, Tina made it through the whirlwind of the next three days. Although the fever broke early on, the potion caused Newt to sleep most of the day and night. Jacob sent baskets of sweets with Theseus each day, as Tina and Theseus had adamantly forbidden him to visit Newt (for the potion would be useless to Jacob if he caught the flu). Tina made more of her bubby's chicken soup than she'd ever made in her life. 

The morning after the last dose, Newt awoke bright and early, right as rain and with Tina fast asleep beside him with her arm draped over his chest. He hated to wake her, he could see the dark circles under her eyes, but he didn't want her to worry when she did wake up. He kissed her knuckles and woke her up gently. 

“Good morning, Tina,” he whispered softly in her ear. Tina stirred and then suddenly shot bolt upright. 

“Newt!” She half shouted, half laughed, throwing her arms around him and knocking him back down on his pillow. 

“What, it was just a cold, I wasn't at death's door or anything,” he huffed out. 

“Oh, you big idiot,” Tina playfully shoved him, “you actually were seriously ill. Theseus had to bring a healer over and all.” She ran her fingers through his hair and then pulled him in for a kiss. "Don't scare me like that ever again, please,” she murmured after they broke apart. 

“You know I can't promise that, my dear,” he sighed into her neck, “but I can get you breakfast,” he gave her a squeeze and then extricated himself so he could get out of bed. 

“No, it's fine,” Tina yawned, “I've-I've got it,” she yawned again. 

“Now it's my turn to make you stay in bed,” Newt gently chided, “you've run yourself ragged on my account. Please, sleep.”

“I promise, I'm fine-”

“For my sake, then. Please.”

Tina yawned again and nodded. Newt tucked the blanket around her and she was asleep by the time he planted a kiss on her forehead before leaving the room.


	7. Training

With the news that Tina would be allowed to take the auror exams to gain a British license, Newt was all too happy to help Tina prepare for the practical exam, even if it meant being on the wrong end of her wand for several hours a day. 

One day, Newt suggested taking her practice to the next level. “You know, there's a gang around here that traffics creatures,” Newt explained, “I've had a few scuffles with them, but have never been able to take them down because they're not a priority for magical law enforcement.”

“Are you kiddin’?” Tina exclaimed indignantly, “and Theseus won't dedicate any resources to it?”

“It's not always his call,” Newt shook his head sadly. 

“So you want me to help you take them down?" Tina asked, with great excitement. She missed auror work, especially the thrill of a good raid. 

“Well, I don't think two people can shut them down, not even with one of the two being you, but two can rescue more creatures than one,” he grinned. 

“Alright, then let's do this!”

“That's my wonderful, incredible wife!” Newt chuckled. As he drew her in for a kiss, it suddenly occurred to him that for the first time since getting married, he had actually referred to her as his wife in private, and was surprised by how natural it felt. He was no longer simply besotted, but fully and hopelessly in love with her. He wasn't sure if she felt the same way and wasn't ready to ask. In time, he'd muster up the courage to say “I love you” and find out for sure, but for now, he was content to hold her in his arms and plan this raid. 

The morning of the day they were to infiltrate the ring, the kelpie suffered a major setback in the healing of its wound. Newt was torn- Bunty needed help, because the kelpie needed to be handled by two. He didn't want Tina carrying out their plan alone, but on the other hand, it couldn't be postponed, and besides, if he'd taken them on himself before, Tina was more than capable. 

“Worrying means you suffer twice,” he murmured as he and Tina kissed goodbye before she left. He was really talking to himself more than anyone else. 

“It'll be fine,” Tina squeezed his hands, “I will see in the afternoon, with some new additions to our basement,” she smiled.

It almost worked. Having to do it alone, it didn't go exactly to plan. Tina only managed to run out with a crate of hippogriff eggs, and had to leave the other creatures for another time. Another issue is that she was seen. She took on the gang members just fine, although she heard them swearing as she escaped that she and Newt would pay. She's wasn't too worried about the threat. These were small time criminals who weren't very bright.

Newt was so relieved when she returned, he scooped her up and twirled her around, completely ignoring the hippogriff eggs.

“You should have seen the looks on their faces,” Tina chuckled, recounting the story, “I don't think it occurred to them that a scrawny witch like me could take on three, and win.”

Newt paused for a moment, a shadow of worry flickering in his eyes, as he gripped her shoulders “they saw you? They identified you?”

“It's fine, Newt, really,” she reassured him, “these guys were not playin’ with a full deck here. They yelled some stupid threats but-” 

“They threatened you?” Newt pulled her closer, his heart beating hard. 

“Really, Newt, it's nothing-”

“It's true they're not very bright, but I've dealt with them enough to know they can be dangerous…”

“Newt, honey, I'm an auror. I can take care of the both of us, especially against idiots like that,” Tina scoffed. 

Newt kissed her hair and sighed, “I know dear. It's just, I-” was now the moment? Should he tell her now? That he loved her, more than life itself? That he could no longer brush off worrying with his silly dictum about suffering twice, because his world would simply end if anything were to happen to her? 

His courage waned, “just, be careful, please,” he pleaded, staring intensely into her dark salamander eyes. “And one more thing,” a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, “you are not scrawny, you are-” his hand hovered over her rear end, though he stopped, not wanting to touch her where she might not want to be touched. 

Tina smiled and guided his hand there, “you may,” she smiled sheepishly, and kissed him deeply, sighing as he pulled her closer and massaged her rear. 

As Newt once again heated up, he started thinking about other things to calm him down. And that's when he remembered the crate of hippogriff eggs sitting by their feet. 

“The eggs!” he abruptly pulled back. 

“You're right,” Tina replied, “let's bring them down.” Newt picked up the box, and hand in hand, they made their way downstairs. 

As they set up an incubation area for the eggs, it occurred to Tina that she was, in fact, madly in love with this strange and utterly wonderful wizard she had married. Despite their most recent embrace, she wasn't entirely sure if he felt the same way, but figured now was a good time to signal that she was ready to move closer to a real marriage. 

“Hey, Newt?” she said that night, as he kissed her in her doorway as he did every night, “I think it's about time we shared our room for good, like a normal married couple.”

Newt was so overjoyed, he didn't even answer. He just swept her up bridal style and carried her to the bed, depositing her gently before climbing in next to her and gathering her in his arms. 

Later, when they'd changed into pajamas and settled in for the night, Newt held her tightly against his chest. “You've no idea how happy this makes me,” he whispered, against her neck, trailing kisses all along while Tina sighed happily and kissed his knuckles, until they fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's so short, the next chapter will have a lot more going on. I observe the Jewish Sabbath, so I won't be online at all tonight and tomorrow, but I will try to upload tomorrow night after it ends. If I don't get to it, then I'll resume posting on Sunday.


	8. An argument

Newt stirred in early morning light. He felt Tina's warm weight against him and smiled sleepily, pulling her closer to him. And then he felt a stirring below. He tried to pull back before Tina noticed. Just because she'd invited him in, didn't mean she was ready for more and he didn't want her to feel pressured to move along to the next step. Too late. He felt Tina begin to stir, then suddenly stiffen in his arms. She'd felt it. 

Newt immediately drew away from her and started muttering apologies, “I'm so sorry Tina… Just a common morning reaction… I... I promise I don't mean to ask you…” 

Tina turned to face him and put a finger to his lips. “Shh, it's OK. I'm actually, um, kinda flattered that, um, that I caused you to…” flustered and unable to finish, she got her point across by kissing him firmly and drawing him closer, feeling how he was still hard against her. “Why don't we… Explore each other a bit?” she suggested, taking Newt's hand and sliding it under her pajama top.

“Are you sure?” Newt's eyes widened, as he slid his hand farther up her shirt. Tina nodded, and Newt kissed her more heatedly than ever as he touched her. “Tell me to stop, and I will,” he breathed between kisses, “you don't have to do anything you don't want to.” 

They spent the morning kissing and touching and learning each other's bodies, though Tina did eventually decide she wasn't ready to consummate the marriage just yet. 

“I'm sorry Newt,” she mumbled, as soon as she indicated she didn't want to go any farther today.

“You've nothing to be sorry for,” he assured her as he pulled back and settled comfortably back into a spooning position, “I told to you to tell me when to stop and I meant it.” He kissed her neck as if to punctuate. 

“Have you ever…?” Newt asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer. 

“No,” Tina answered honestly. 

“I will say it again, just tell whenever you want to stop. I promise, you never have to do anything more than you're ready for.”

Tina hugged him tightly, “thank you,” then paused awkwardly before continuing, “have you?”

Newt drew a sharp breath, but knew he had to be fully honest. She was his wife, after all. 

“I have,” he began awkwardly, “but I've always, uh, hmmm, I've always paid for it.” He thought he felt Tina stiffen a bit, but then she relaxed, and he figured an explanation was in order.

“I'm not proud of it, but, well, you know how I am with people, I could never talk to anyone enough to have any sort of relationship, and well, I've been to war and traveled the world alone, and yes, on occasion I've felt the need to…that… well…” he held Tina tightly, and finished quietly, “that's all in the past.”

Eventually, they got up and began their day. Tina seemed to be speaking a bit more laconically than usual, but Newt wasn't entirely sure. They worked together downstairs until Bunty arrived, then Tina went upstairs to do some chores. Newt offered to join her, but she insisted he stay downstairs, especially as the kelpie was still ailing. 

Newt came up in the late afternoon to start fixing dinner, but found Tina already working on it. He came up behind her and affectionately wrapped his arms around her waist, as he sometimes did when she was busy. She stiffened and shook him off, so now he was certain something was not right. 

“Tina?” he asked tentatively. 

“It's nothing,” she muttered. 

“Tina,” he said with warningly, making it known that he knew it wasn't nothing. 

She paused, then turned around and said, “sorry, you're right, I promised to try to stop doing that. It's not nothing. It's… it's what you said this morning.”

Newt raised an eyebrow and she continued, “I'm really surprised, Newt. I never took you for the type to… Whores, Newt! You've been with, Mercy Lewis knows how many whores!”

“Tina,” Newt replied calmly, trying to keep his voice steady, “I already explained, it's not something I'm proud of, but what happened happened and it's in the past.”

He wasn't sure she really heard him, because she was still very agitated, “do tell me? How many? One in every country you've visited? Were they pretty? What-”

“Enough Tina!” Newt exclaimed angrily enough to startle even himself. “I was fully honest with you with you this morning, and I've hidden nothing from you. It's a chapter in my life that is thankfully over and I prefer to leave it behind, especially now that you know what you need to know. I think I'm entitled to a bit of privacy, don't you think?”

Tina laughed derisively. 

“So that's a no?” Newt shot back, “I see you've no concept of boundaries then, just like your sister!”

“What the hell does my sister have to do with this?” Tina bristled. 

“I don't know if it's an American thing or a living with a legilimens thing,” Newt continued ranting, “but the astounding lack of boundaries you've displayed just now is something I've only seen in one other person, and that's Queenie!” 

“I ain't proud of what she's done, goin’ off with Grindelwald, but don't you DARE talk about my sister like that!” Tina snarled. In her agitation, her normally mild New York accent was coming through quite strongly. 

“Oh I can, and I will,” Newt countered, fully intending to wound with his words, “her behavior has been disturbing since long before Paris. I understand she can't help what she hears, but that doesn't mean it was ok for her to share things… Telling you about Leta before I did… Do you know, she apparated directly into my flat the night before I left for Paris?”

“Oh no, bring the smelling salts,” Tina snapped sarcastically and rolled her eyes. 

“No, it's not an Azkaban worthy offense, but you know full well it's extremely rude, and not acceptable by anyone's standards,” Newt ranted, “and it's yet another example in a long pattern of abominable behavior. And did you know, she actually enchanted Jacob before dragging him across the Atlantic Ocean?” 

He saw the shocked and hurt expression on Tina's face, but continued the story of what Queenie had done to Jacob, “she enchanted him and brought him here. I don't know when she was planning on lifting it, but if I hadn't gone and lifted it when I did, she would have at least waited until after marrying him. Do you find that acceptable?”

Tina was clearly stunned hearing this, but still wanted to stick up for her sister, “no, not at all, but-” 

“But what? It's absolutely horrid, and you know it, even if you're not ready to say so!” Newt had never released so much anger and hurt at once ever, but still, he went on, because he had one parting shot to give, “you're just so used to it you don't even realize how awful your sister is! Frankly, I'm glad she's not in our lives at present, I want nothing to do with her!”

The look of raw pain on Tina's face was enough to tell him that he'd just crossed a line, and he instantly regretted it. 

“T-Tina, wait,” he stammered, as she grabbed her coat and headed for the door. She said nothing as she stormed out, refusing to look at him. 

“Tina please!” he yelped as she disapparated in front of him. He went back inside for his own coat, and saw Bunty standing in the doorway to the basement stairs, trying to hide her mortification at having just witnessed a couple's row. How much had she heard, Newt wondered, with great embarrassment. 

“Bunty, I-” what? Should he say he was sorry she had to witness that? “Go tend to the hippogriff eggs, please, I'll be back in a bit,” he settled on. Then he grabbed his coat and headed to his brother's flat. 

“Newt,” Theseus was clearly surprised to see his brother at his doorstep, “what-” 

“Is Tina here?” 

“No, why would she be?”

“Well, I thought she might have come by to visit Jacob. We, um, you see…” Newt stared shamefacedly at the floor, “we had a bit of a row and she stormed out,” he mumbled at his shoes, “and I know Jacob's taken to looking after her like a brother, now that she's not got her sister.”

“I understand,” Theseus nodded, “she's not here. Would you like to talk about it?”

Newt shook his head, “I was a right prat, Thes. I said some really wretched things, and I need to find her and Merlin, I'd understand if she didn't forgive me, but she must at least know how much I love her and regret everything I said…” 

“Newt, I'm sure it's fine,” Theseus patted his shoulder reassuringly, “couples row, say things they shouldn't in the heat of the moment, and they kiss and make up later. She probably went for a walk to cool off. Go back home, she'll come back when she's calmed down. She might even be back already.”

“You sure? It was really bad-”

“Newt, stop being so dramatic. Go home. Set up a romantic dinner or something, and just wait for her to come home, it will be fine,” he grabbed Newt for a hug. Newt stiffened as he usually did, but eventually hugged back. 

“If you say so. Thanks, Theseus. And if she does come by?”

“Jacob and I will be sure to tell here you were here and feeling absolutely wretched about your behavior,” Theseus chuckled. 

“And that she'd better get home, because you're there waiting to confess your undyin’ love!” Jacob added helpfully, having just come to the door himself, “really, pal, like your brother said, it'll be fine.”

Newt nodded. He was feeling better, if both Jacob and Theseus thought it would be alright. He apparated back to his flat and immediately set to finishing up the dinner Tina had been working on when it had all started. He also set the table with candles and flowers. He was going to finally tell her that he loved her. 

An hour after finishing, Tina was still not back. He was getting a bit worried, but he understood she might have really needed a long time to calm down. He had been awful this evening, he couldn't expect her to be ready to face him so quickly. He decided to head downstairs in the meantime. 

“All good, Newt?” Bunty asked as he came down. 

“It's fine,” he sighed, refusing to show his growing worry on his face, “here now, it's time for the kelpie's medicine.”

Tina still wasn't back when they finished with the kelpie. He went back down to feed the mooncalves and look in on the hippogriff eggs. Still, no Tina. 

It was now nearly three hours since she'd stormed out of the flat. His favorite dictum about worrying simply went out the window when it came to Tina. He did the only thing he could think of. He sent a patronus to Theseus. “Tina's been gone three hours. I think we should go look for her.” He watched the silver thunderbird sail into the night and waited for Theseus to arrive and help him think of what to do next.


	9. Capture and escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up, this is where the warning tags come into play.

Tina woke up sore and groggy, unsure where she was. She tried to piece together the evening. The big argument with Newt. Storming out. Going for a walk to cool down. Looking out over the river, thinking about how much she loved Newt, and beating herself up for being so stupid. What could she say to him? She had to go back, tell him she loved him, and hope that he'd forgive her for crossing a line. And then, she'd heard the shout of “stupify!” echoing out behind her, and saw the red flashing around her as she turned around to confront her attacker, but was hit with the spell before she could draw out her wand… 

The voices around her sounded familiar. Where did she… Oh. These were the traffickers she'd nicked the eggs from the other day. They had sworn to make her pay, but she didn't think they'd manage that this quickly. Her train of thought was interrupted as her captors noticed she was awake. 

“Well, well, well,” the leader said, walking over toward her, “look who's awake, boys!”

“What do you think we should do, boss?” the second wizard flexed his fingers before pulling out his wand. 

“No, Yaxley, a wand won't be necessary,” the leader grinned wickedly, “Yaxley, hold her down on the right. Runcorn, to the left. I'll go first, but you'll each get a turn, not to worry.”

“A turn...what are you trying to-” Tina struggled against Runcorn and Yaxley as the leader, whose name she still didn't know, removed his belt. 

“We're going to send your husband a message, dearie,” he whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek, causing her to shudder, “teach him to stop messing up our operations.”

Tina struggled even harder, now knowing what was about to come. Without her wand, she didn't see how she could get away from three burly men intent on violating her, but dammit, she was not going down without a fight! She spat in the leader's eye as he roughly shoved her legs apart. He swung his hand to slap her face, but she twisted away just in time and he ended up slapping Runcorn instead, causing him to slacken his grip for a moment. Tina used that moment to get into a better position and kicked the boss hard between the legs. As he doubled over, she wrenched herself out of Runcorn's grasp and punched Yaxley with her now free hand. This caused him to drop his wand, which she picked up, and then summoned her own wand back to her. She starting shooting off spells with both wands in all directions, as she ran for the exit. She decided it was more important to get out and disapparate, rather than shoot for accuracy. The boss, meanwhile, had recovered and was chasing after her. She disarmed him, but he kept running after her. She ran out the back of the warehouse and felt herself leaving the wards. The boss wound up his arm and threw something at her as she twisted into disapparition. She felt an extreme pain in her left side, whatever he'd thrown must have hit. Whatever, she'd sort it out in a few seconds when she got home. 

Something was wrong, though. She felt herself slowing, almost feeling stuck in the time-space compression that was supposed to be bringing her home. Her strength was waning rapidly, but she had to keep pushing, she'd fix it when she got home. It was likely a bad splinch, is all. With the last of her strength, she pushed herself, and popped back into existence in her living room, where she promptly collapsed. 

30 minutes earlier... 

Theseus and Jacob popped up on Newt's doorstep and pounded on the door, which Newt immediately opened. 

“I think we need to go out and look for her, Theseus,” he huffed out, “but what if she's on her way back… No, this is silly, she's fine, probably will be back any minute… she was really upset, she just needed a long time… No, it's not like her to disappear like this… Theseus?”

“Calm down, Newt. I think you're right, it's concerning, and we should look for her. Does she have any favorite spots? Familiar routes she likes to walk?”

“Yes, a few,” Newt nodded, “come, let's go- wait. What if we miss her and she comes back here?”

Theseus fingered his pocket watch. “Newt, give me your watch.”

“What are you-” 

“Just give me your watch, you prat!” Theseus grabbed Newt's watch and then tapped both his and Newt's watches with his wand. “Protean charm.”

“What the what who?” Jacob asked. 

Newt nodded in understanding, “he's charmed both our watches to be connected to each other. So we can alert the other quickly if one of us finds her.”

“Right,” said Theseus, “I'll wait here with Bunty in case she comes back here. Jacob, you'll go out to search with Newt. Whoever finds her first should touch their watch, to alert the other.”

“Thank you,” Newt nodded to Theseus and Bunty, “come on, Jacob,” he gave Jacob his arm and then whisked him away. 

They materialized near a beautiful stretch of promenade by the Thames. “This is one of our favorite spots for a stroll,” Newt explained. 

“Good place to start, for sure,” Jacob nodded. Newt performed the tracking spell, just as he had in Paris, and gold dust flew everywhere. 

“Tina? Tina?” Newt looked around, and followed her footprints. He came to a piece of torn leather on the ground. He swallowed hard, as fear rose in his throat. He watched the shadows of past activity where the scrap was and watched horrified as Tina's form was hit by a spell and then dragged away. 

“Merlin's beard,” he whispered, “she's been attacked. We need to go after-” 

Jacob seized his arm, “your brother's the cop, Newt,” he exclaimed, “I think you should notify him first and he should come with us.” Newt nodded in agreement and fumbled for his watch. At that moment, it glowed hot, which, meant Theseus must have had word of something. 

“Theseus seems to know now too,” Newt said quietly, “come, let's go back and see what he knows.” With a whoosh, they were gone.


	10. Wounded

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graphic violence tag applies here. It's probably not actually bad enough to warrant that, but there is a lot of blood in this chapter, so I used the tag to be safe.

From the floor of her living room where she'd just collapsed, Tina, still conscious, registered panicked shouts from Theseus and Bunty. “I'm ah-right, iss jussa splinch…” she slurred as she saw Theseus’ worried face peering over her. 

“You've been stabbed,” he said bluntly, then yelled over towards the basement door, where Bunty was already running to grab supplies, “dittany! Lots of dittany! And as much blood replenishing potion as you've got! Merlin's bollocks, that's a lot of blood!” 

He fumbled around for his watch with one hand and used his other to wave his wand in a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding. Satisfied that he'd alerted Newt, he turned his full attention to Tina, who was now drifting in and out of consciousness. 

“what're you doing here,” she was slurring and barely coherent, “where's Newt? I want-” 

“Shhh,” Theseus hushed her, “Newt is on the way, he'll be here any second now. Stay with me Tina, it'll be-” 

CRACK! 

Newt and Jacob appeared at that moment, having received the alert, though they hadn't been expecting to see Tina there. The shock of seeing her splayed out on the floor covered in blood nearly broke Newt. 

“Tina!” he shouted as he got down to the floor to be with her, then looked over at Theseus, “Fuck Merlin, what happened? Who did this to her?”

“I've no idea,” Theseus grunted, straining in concentration, “all I know is she's been stabbed and it's… Not… knitting…” he grunted again as he tried the healing spell once more, which would close the gaping stab wound for a second, and then it would open again, blood continuing to pour out. Bunty returned at that moment, arms full of bandages, and bottles of potions. Newt grabbed the dittany and poured it on, as Bunty tipped blood replenishing potion down Tina's throat. The dittany proved no more effective than the spell. The wound would not close and the bleeding would not stop. 

“Shouldn't we get her to the hospital?” Jacob asked, unable to do anything himself. 

“She's not stable enough to be moved,” Theseus explained, “Another apparition might kill her… Damn near killed herself apparating here.”

Tina was beginning to shiver. Newt cradled her head in his lap, and stared into her eyes, those salamander eyes he loved so much, desperately willing the flickering fire not to let the dark water put it out. 

“Tina,” he called out to her, “I've got you, Tina. Stay with me, love.” Merlin's beard, was this how it was going to end? With him finally managing to tell her as she died in arms? This was all his fault. She wouldn't have been out if he hadn't fought with her like that. Why hadn't he told her he loved her sooner? Now he was going to lose her, and the last time he'd seen her before her end, he'd said such cruel things… 

“Stay with me Tina,” tears started to roll down Newt's cheeks, and his voice quavered, “I love you.”

“I know,” she whispered, “I love you too.” 

She was struggling to stay awake. Theseus was still struggling to close the wound, and Bunty was running out of blood replenisher. Suddenly, something clicked for Newt. 

“Bunty! Get the antivenom! The general type!” 

She didn't need telling twice, she immediately ran to summon it from downstairs.

“Newt, what do you mean-” Theseus started. 

“You said she'd been stabbed, right? It occurred to me that the knife might have been laced with some sort of venom. I've seen this, some powerful venoms won't let a wound close.”

“And you have something that can stop this?” Theseus asked, amazed. 

“Enough to get her to St. Mungos,” Newt replied quietly, “I don't know what type of venom we're dealing with and we haven't got time to find out. But the general antivenom should work for long enough to get her to the hospital. Where they have more specific and powerful antivenom, rare ingredients like Phoenix tears, and enough blood replenisher to keep her alive while they sort it out.”

At that moment, Bunty reappeared with the antivenom and Newt directed her to apply some directly to the wound while he gave Tina a spoonful by mouth. “Shh,” he stroked her hair and face, “I've got you, love. I'm here. I love you.” Tina was too weak to reply at this point, but just nuzzled against his hand that was stroking her cheek as she closed her eyes. 

“It's working!” Theseus yelped, “the antivenom is allowing it to knit!” Newt looked over and sighed with relief. It was not very stable, and would probably reopen in a few minutes, but it was enough to safely transport her. 

“Bunty, more replenisher?” Newt asked. 

“I'm sorry, Newt,” Bunty replied tearfully, “we've only about half a teaspoon left.”

“It'll do,” he sighed, “St Mungos will have more.”

He tipped the last of it into Tina, who was no longer conscious at this point. He scooped her up in his arms, reeling at just how much blood had been lost, though thankfully, the antivenom was still holding up. 

“Wait!” shouted Theseus, “the knife! Should help them determine what substance, exactly, we're dealing with.” He summoned the knife and took Jacob's arm, ready to bring him along. 

“I'll stay here and clean up,” Bunty offered. 

“No,” said Newt, “someone dangerous is out there, who targeted Tina and probably knows where we live. I don't want you here alone.”

“Newt's right,” Theseus agreed, “you need to come with us.”

Healers immediately surrounded them as the party of five appeared in the hospital lobby. 

Theseus handed one of them the knife, as Newt explained the injury, and what they'd done so far. 

They whisked Tina off, and Newt made to follow her. 

“Wait!” Theseus shouted after him. Newt turned around. 

“I'm calling in some of my team tonight, we're going to try to find who did this. Clearly a dangerous wizard is running around London, so the matter cannot wait. When she wakes, we'll need to get a statement from her.”

Newt nodded, and the two brothers embraced. If anyone understood, it was Theseus. 

“Before you go,” Newt muttered, “please see to it that Jacob and Bunty are taken to safety.” Theseus nodded in agreement and was off. Newt headed down the corridor to be with his wife.


	11. Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tina will be recapping what happened to her, but the worst of the angst is over. Enjoy!

Newt stayed by Tina's side through the night. Thanks to Theseus’ forethought to bring the knife, the healers were able to quickly determine the substance and immediately bring out some powerful resources. It was not a moment too soon either, Newt's antivenom had started to wear off and the wound reopened not long after Tina had been taken into the ward. However, with a combination of a strong antivenom ointment, special charmed bandages, an oral antivenom potion, and yet more blood replenisher, Tina was soon declared out of immediate danger. 

“That venom is going to take a few days to work its way out of her system,” the healer explained to Newt, “and only then will the wound be able to close fully and properly. I expect she'll need to stay here about a week.”

“Thank you, for saving my wife,” Newt responded tearfully. 

“We ought to thank you,” the healer replied, “without your quick thinking, she'd probably have arrived here beyond saving.”

Newt didn't know what to say to that. He just squeezed Tina's limp hand tighter and kissed her forehead, before settling into the chair beside her for the night. He glanced down at his clothes, still soaked in Tina's blood, pulled out his wand, and, with a shaking hand, cleaned himself up. 

Although the healers insisted she was out of danger, the shock of nearly losing Tina was still quite fresh, and Newt was wracked with the most agonizing guilt. If only he'd not caused that row and sent her running into the dangerous night… for hours, he alternated between watching her unconscious form lying beside him, and replaying those horrifying moments where she had nearly bled to death in his arms. It was a long time before he could stop shaking enough to fall asleep, his hand tightly gripping Tina's. 

Tina woke up the next morning from being poked and prodded by healers. Before opening her eyes, she instinctively tensed, remembering the wizards who had held her down, ready to have their way with her… She relaxed as soon as she opened her eyes and took in her white surroundings, clearly a hospital, and saw Newt snoring lightly as he slept in a chair right beside her. 

“What happened?” she groaned. 

“Good morning, Mrs. Scamander,” a young healer chirped, “we sure are glad to see you awake! I think your husband will be too, he had the fright of his life last night,” she gestured toward Newt's sleeping form. 

“You were stabbed in your left side with a venom laced knife,” a second healer explained, and Tina looked at her left flank and took in the heavy bandaging. “You lost a lot of blood, and it took our most powerful antivenom to stop it. You're going to be here about a week.”

“Mercy Lewis,” Tina murmured. 

“Done now!” the first healer exclaimed, “we'll be back around lunch time to check up and give you your next dose.”

As soon as they left, Tina squeezed Newt's hand gently a few times to wake him. 

Newt immediately shot out of his chair, and practically smothered Tina with kisses. She tensed for a moment, then melted into his embrace. After last night, nothing could feel safer than Newt's arms. 

“I thought I'd lost you,” he wept into her hair, “and all I could think was how the last time I'd seen you, I'd been a right prat, and it was my fault you ended up in danger... I don't know if you remember, but I did tell you I love you while you were still awake. I want you to hear it again, in case you didn't catch it then. I love you, Tina.”

“I do remember. I told you I love you too, and I meant it, I wasn't just being loopy,” she smiled tearfully, and reached up to stroke his face. “And I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have pushed you like that, it was stupid-” 

“No Tina, I was a prat, downright cruel even, I should never have insulted your sister-” 

“It was wrong of me to hold your past over your head-” 

“It was just as wrong of me to-” 

“Shhh,” Tina put a finger to his lips and quieted him with a kiss. “Let's promise to be more careful with our words.”

“Of course, my love. You know, I do care about your sister. We'll get her back, and in time, I'll forgive her, even if not as quickly as you will. I can't promise I won't ever bugger things up when talking to you, but I'll try my best to at least not intentionally use words to wound you.” 

“Thank you, that means a lot to me. And of course, I will also be more careful with my words,” Tina agreed, and held him to her. They exchanged kisses for several more minutes until they were interrupted. Theseus stood in the doorway, smirking. 

“Nothing like attempted murder to patch things up after a row, eh?” he chuckled, but his expression soon turned serious. “Forgive me Tina, for bringing it up when you've just woken up, but we're trying to find whoever it was that attacked you, and I'm going to need a statement from you, anything you can tell us.”

“Of course,” Tina nodded, and pushed herself to sitting.

“Are you sure you can do this now?” Newt slid his arm protectively around her waist, “perhaps Theseus can come back later, when you've had a bit more time-” 

“No, I want to do it now, so we can get down to the business of catching that scum,” Tina replied through gritted teeth. 

“Alright then,” said Theseus encouragingly, “what can you tell me?”

“It was that animal trafficking gang, the one that the ministry thought was too petty to deal with,” she stared pointedly at Theseus, and Newt glared at him. 

“I'm so sorry,” Theseus started, “and rest assured, the minister himself will be hearing about it from me.”

“Anyway, they took me from the promenade. A stunner. I'm not sure how long I was out. I woke up in a warehouse, and their stated aim was to-to-” she paused to gain her composure, “they said they were gonna send Newt a message.”

“You mean they intended to hold you for ransom?” Theseus asked, as Newt tightened his arm around her. 

“Um, no, not quite,” Tina whispered, looking down at the white sheets and twisting them nervously between her fingers. Newt and Theseus exchanged puzzled looks, but waited patiently. They knew she'd been through a very difficult ordeal, and didn't want to push her too hard in recounting it. 

Tina burst into tears and threw herself against Newt. He held her tightly against him, stroking her back soothingly. “It's OK, Tina, you're safe now. I've got you, you're safe now.” He looked over at Theseus, “I think perhaps we should continue this interview later?”

Theseus, looking thoroughly unnerved, nodded and made to leave when Tina looked up and shook her head, “no, I want to continue,” she sniffed and rubbed her eyes, “waiting till later won't make it any easier.”

“If you're sure,” said Newt, still holding her against his chest. 

Tina took a deep breath, “they said they wanted to send Newt a message, to teach him to stop messing up their operation. They-” she choked up again and Newt's grip on her tightened, “they were gonna take turns. The boss said he'd t-take-take me first and then the other two could have a turn…to send Newt a message...” she repeated as she trailed off and buried her face in Newt's shoulder again. 

Theseus at first didn't understand, “take you where…?”

But Newt understood right away, and his stomach lurched so wildly he thought he was going to be ill. “Sweet Merlin,” he gasped, awash with a fresh wave of guilt, as he held Tina even tighter and cried with her, gripping her as though both their lives depended on it. 

That's the moment when it clicked for Theseus, and he swore under his breath as the color drained from his face. He felt ill too, and horribly guilty that he'd not insisted more strongly on giving this gang more priority. 

Tina calmed down enough to continue, though Newt would not let go of her. 

“I managed to fight them off before they could… Before it got to that. I managed to grab a wand from one of them, Yaxley, I think his name was, and used it to summon my wand. I think I still had his wand with me when I got home,” she added nodding at Theseus, “perhaps it can help you track them.” 

Theseus made note to look for the spare wand. “Can you tell me about the moment you were stabbed?”

Tina shook her head. “I didn't know I'd been stabbed until you told me. I did feel something hit me painfully as I was apparating, and I started to struggle mid-apparition. I thought I'd splinched myself, but all I could think of was getting home, no matter what it took.”

“And damn near killed yourself doing it,” Theseus shook his head, “though I suppose you'd have been no better off letting yourself materialize before you got home, so you were right to push on home… he must have thrown the knife at you as you were twisting away.” Theseus let out a low whistle. “Well, thank you Tina, for sharing all that. I know it wasn't easy, but it will help us catch them. We will catch them, I promise.” His eyes blazed with indignation. He meant this promise as much for Newt as for Tina. 

“I'd best be out,” Theseus said, standing up and going over to hug both his brother and sister in law. “Jacob's not able to come in here, but I'll be back later with a basket of his sweets.” Tina's mood lightened considerably at this, and she waved happily to Theseus as he left. Newt, still feeling sore about what Tina had been through, simply nuzzled into shoulder, wanting to never let go of her again.


	12. Another Proposal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave you a lot of angst the last few days, so here's some fluff to cap it all off :-)

On the morning of Tina's release from the hospital, Newt came to pick her up looking very bleary eyed. 

“Newt!” Tina rounded on him, “I sent you home early last night in order to avoid exactly this! You were supposed to rest up!”

Newt grinned sheepishly, “I'm sorry, Tina. I couldn't help it. I wanted to make sure our home was perfectly in order for your return, my dearest.”

Tina couldn't complain about that. She kissed Newt tenderly, then said, “alright, sweetheart, now get me out of this chicken coop!”

Theseus came to see them in the lobby. “Thank Merlin, it's good to see you recovered, dear sister,” he greeted Tina, and then looked at them both, “I've good news. We caught those ruddy bastards last night. They're on their way to Azkaban as we speak.” 

Newt hugged Tina to his chest, sighing in relief. “You ready to go home, or do you fancy a walk and perhaps a lunch out?”

“A walk followed by lunch sounds wonderful,” she smiled. 

They stood outside their doorstep after lunch, and Newt seemed very nervous and fidgety. “Tina, I think now might be a good time to tell you, um, it wasn't just straightening up that prevented me from resting,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I was also setting up, um, a little surprise for you. I hope you like it.” He looked away, too anxious to look Tina in the eye. 

“I'm sure it's wonderful,” Tina smiled radiantly. 

“Well, close your eyes please,” Newt requested, “and no peeking!” Tina closed her eyes, and Newt took her by the hands and led her inside, “keep them closed please!” He led her down the stairs to the basement. 

Tina could hear something over the cacophony of creatures, it sounded like music. “Alright now, you can open them.”

Tina opened her eyes and gasped. All the creatures seemed to be involved in welcoming her home. The kelpie was doing choreographed acrobatics, the Nifflers were throwing glitter around, and Pickett led the bowtruckles in scattering rose petals around her. Tina looked around for Newt and found him down on one knee with a box, opened to show a beautiful ring. 

“Tina,” he started, “I think it's time I officially proclaim my love for you. I'm not sure how I've managed to earn yours in return, ridiculous prat that I am-” 

“You are not!” Tina interrupted, in mock indignation. Pickett shushed her so that Newt could continue.

“You're delusional dear, but I shan't complain if it means I get to have you,” he grinned widely, and then continued, “I'd ask you to marry me, but, well, we've already gotten married. A strange way to start our lives together, to be sure, and I did feel a bit of a loss at not being able to do things in the usual way.”

“Newt, I don't think a life with you can ever be expected to happen in the usual way,” Tina smiled sweetly, “and I wouldn't have it any other way.”

“So glad to know you've accepted the mess that is a life with me,” Newt replied, eager to continue his little speech, “nonetheless, I think you deserve a few trappings of normalcy, so here I am, giving you a proper proposal. This one has two questions, actually. Tina, will you do me the honor of continuing this marriage as real, rather than merely on paper? And will you allow me, whenever you feel ready, to give you a proper wedding night?”

Tina's eyes welled up with tears as she smiled fit to burst. “Yes, and yes,” she whispered, and while Newt was standing up and sliding the ring onto her finger, she added, whispering in his ear, “and we can have our wedding night right now.” She blushed crimson at that and Newt sputtered in disbelief, but quickly collected himself. He picked Tina up and twirled her around before kissing her soundly. When they broke apart, he scooped her up and carried her bridal style up to their room to make their marriage complete at last. 

Afterwards, they remained entwined in a tangle of limbs and sheets, lazily caressing each other. “Mrs. Tina Scamander,” Newt tested out, “I don't think I'd ever actually said it aloud, even though it's been true for months already!”

Tina laughed, “yeah, I think I'm ready to own the title. Mrs. Scamander,” she tested it out for herself, “I like the sound of it. And everything that comes with it,” she grinned devilishly and winked. 

Newt pulled her closer to him, and she sighed happily into his chest. “I love you so much, Newt.”

“And I love you so much, Tina.”

Over the years, this would be the day they'd come think of as their real anniversary. The day things became normal for them-or, at least as normal as anything could be, for a pair of Scamanders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Hope it was a good ride! I certainly enjoyed writing it and interacting with everyone who commented, so thank you. I don't know when a new idea will hit, but feel free to come back to this one or any of the others I've written previously. Thanks again everyone!

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know the intricacies of 1920s immigration law, so for purposes of this story, the Wizarding community has their own immigration laws, and they're fairly straightforward simply because wizards are a very small population.


End file.
